Damsel In Distress
by Lady Dudley
Summary: Naomi gets into a situation on the Holodeck, Icheb comes to her rescue.


**A/N: I must admit, I'm not much of a Naomi fan, but she did grow on me. I (re)watched "Shattered" the other day and remembered how much I liked the adult Naomi and Icheb and the idea of Naomi/Icheb. So this is "Shattered" Naomi and Icheb, but not necessarily from that particular timeline (i.e. the Captain mentioned could be Janeway or they could even be on a different ship). Just a little nonsense that wouldn't leave me alone. The first two lines of dialogue are from a Fred Astaire movie I watched the other day. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

_**Damsel In Distress**_

"Shall I rescue you?"

Naomi closed her eyes at the amused voice that came from behind her. Of all the people to find her in this predicament it _would_ be him.

"No thank you, I prefer being in distress," was her, rather tart, reply.

She heard him chuckle and she frowned.

"That really won't do, the Captain asked me to come and find you," he continued.

She pulled a face, even though she knew he couldn't see it and attempted once more to disentangle herself from the ropes. She would never run a rock climbing program on the Holodeck again.

"Careful, you could fall."

Naomi rolled her eyes in annoyance, completely missing the note of genuine concern in his voice, "I am well aware of that, thank you."

"How did you manage to end up upside down?" he asked the amusement still evident in his tone.

"That's none of your business," she huffed as she once again struggled with the ropes.

There was no way in hell she was going to admit that even she didn't know how she had ended up hanging upside down. She wondered briefly whether she had a concussion.

Apparently he was wondering the same thing.

"Are you injured?" he asked, his boots materialising in her line of vision as he came closer.

"Just my pride," she shot back.

She heard him chuckle again before he took a firm hold of the rope that was wrapped around her leg, the only thing keeping her from falling. She could tell by his silence that he was assessing the situation.

"I think the best thing to do would be to shut down the program," he said finally.

"I'll fall," she said, ashamed at how fearful she sounded.

"I'll catch you," he assured her; all traces of humour now gone from his tone.

"Do you promise?" she asked, trying to keep her tone firm.

"Naomi..." he began his tone a perfect mixture of indulgent affection and exasperation that he seemed to reserve just for her.

"Icheb," she countered, her tone similar but coloured by an underlying strain of pleading.

"All right, all right, I promise," he told her, she suppressed a smile as she imagined him holding his hands up in defeat as he did so.

She sucked in a breath as she felt him take a firm hold on her waist.

"I'm going to deactivate the program now," he warned her. She gave him a brief nod to show that she understood.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she heard him order the computer to deactivate the program and in the next moment she found herself flipped up the right way and held securely against a hard chest.

She tentatively opened one eye and was greeted by Icheb's grinning face; both eyes snapped open and she glared at him.

"This isn't funny," she told him.

He attempted to suppress his grin, "Of course not," he agreed.

"You tell _anyone_ about this and you're dead," she added.

Icheb lost the battle against his amusement and burst out laughing.

"Don't worry, ma petite," Naomi flushed a little at the nickname, "I'll just add it to the list of other embarrassing moments I have witnessed," he assured her, once he got a hold on some of his laughter.

"Just put my down, _Itchy_," she insisted.

She felt his rumble of laughter, "I don't think that would be a good idea, imagine what trouble you could get into if I put you down," he teased with a grin.

She stuck her tongue out at him and his grin widened, if that was at all possible.

"Let's get you back to your quarters," he said after a moment in a congenial tone as he headed towards the doors.

Against her better judgement she shrank back against him, "You are not seriously going to carry me all the way to my quarters are you?" she demanded. "_Icheb_," she continued in an increasingly agitated tone when he failed to respond.

"It's not often that it's me telling you to relax," he commented as they neared the door. At her look he stopped just out of range of the sensor, "All right, I'll put you down," he told her with an exaggerated sigh.

"Thank you," she said as he set her back on her feet.

"It could have been worse," he told her as they left the Holodeck, "I could have had a Holo-camera or been Tom Paris."

"Funny," she said sarcastically.

"I'm a funny guy," he replied.

"You really are enjoying this aren't you?"

Icheb sent her an amused look, "What? Seeing you hanging upside down or getting to carry you?" He winked at her surprised expression, "You're right, ma petite, I did enjoy it. All of it," he added, leaving her speechless. "I'll go tell the Captain you're coming while you get changed," he offered cheerfully, enjoying her shock.

"Icheb?" she called after him, he turned around, a questioning look on his face. "I enjoyed having you carry me too," she told him before ducking into her quarters.

Icheb's face broke out into a wide smile as he continued on his way to the Bridge.

**A/N: "ma petite" is French for "my little girl." I thought it might be something that Icheb used to call her when they were kids and still uses on the odd occasion, though now as a term of endearment rather than a nickname. **


End file.
